"In Griffin’s well-drawn fantasy world, humans are oppressed and enslaved by the demonic Na’Reish. Annika is a Na’Chi, the result of cross-breeding between the races. She possesses powerful healing powers and her father, Na’Rei Savyr, is leader of the Na’Reish, but she’s nonetheless reviled, considered an abomination. When she rescues Kalan Tyn, leader of the human’s Blade Council, and asks his assistance in freeing the Na’Chi from the Na’Reish, the wheels of romance are deftly set in motion. A complex plot involving the Na’Chi freedom struggles keeps the taut and intricate narrative moving as Annika and Kalan slowly develop their emotional connection. Readers will look forward to future installments in a potentially long-running series. Agent: Elaine Spencer, the Knight Agency. (Feb.)"

“Enter a bold new series, the Light Blade, where a longstanding war between the demon and human realms rages. Promising new talent Griffin’s characters face danger and hidden secrets that threaten to change the world as they know it. A terrific debut!”

COVERS

Keri Arthur

Here is the US cover of Darkness Devours, the third book in the Dark Angels series. Fantastic cover! Check out those gorgeous wings.

SALES

Eleni Konstantine

Angel Eyes, a modern fantasy short story, has sold to Musa Publishing. It's expected to be paired with Stormy Divide when released in June.

OTHER

Lilliana Rose
Lilliana has had not one, but two poems published. Spanish Garden has been published in TAMBA, issue 49. Gone has been published in The Mozzie, Vol 19, Issue 10.

Jenny Schwartz
Jenny has also tried her hand at Steampunk poetry. The Matchgirl Grown Up is on her blog.

~~~

Great news everyone. Congratulations.

Hopefully we will have more good news next week. If not, we'll see you 10th January.

Friday, 23 December 2011

Welcome to December’s What We Are Reading column. Today, we have Maggie
Mundy, Mel Teshco, Nicola E. Sheridan and Jodie Smith.

Maggie Mundy

~ Many Lives, Many Masters ~ Dr. Brian Weiss

The book I am reading is called Many Lives, Many Masters by
Dr. Brian Weiss. The front cover says. The
true story of a prominent psychiatrist, his young patient and the past life
therapy that changed both their lives. I have read about two thirds of the
book and it does seem incredible that the woman who is his patient can remember
so many different things from previous lives, however very little seems to be
able to be confirmed. The side of the book I found more interesting was when
the patient spoke with the voice of the masters and tried to convey to Dr.
Weiss information on philosophy and the meaning of life. Dr Weiss is Jewish and
found excepting the concept of reincarnation difficult, that was until he
researched the bible and found that there had been mention of it but it was
removed in 300ad and 500ad. The church felt it could not control the populace
as well if they thought they could come back and get it right next time. I am
enjoying reading it as it is presented in an accessible format. I was
disappointed that he does not have footnotes for information on other doctors
in the field. But at the end of the day it seems odd that a highly respected
doctor would jeopardise his career on a whim. Whether you believe him or not he
is totally convinced what he has observed is true.

Nicola E. Sheridan

~ Raine ~ Elizabeth Amber.

OK, I will confess I’m a little embarrassed to admit I read
this, but curiosity got the better of me (as it so often does).

“Raine” is the second book in Elizabeth Amber’s Lords of
Satyr series. I initially read the first as I wanted to see how other writers
were treating their Satyrs... Ummm. Well, suffice to say these Satyrs are
different in more ways than one (forgive the pun) as every full moon they grow
an extra ding-dong. No really. They do.

“Raine” is based on Raine Satyr, one of three Satyr brothers
and his half faerie mate. Jordan, his partner, is not your ordinary heroine...
oh no, because she is also a he. Jordan is a hermaphrodite, and has been living
as a man her entire life in order to accept her inheritance. Except on every
birthday, she’s forced by the sinister Salerno to pose masked and nude before a
crowd of artists and doctors in a sort of medical freak show (think
Embarrassing Bodies 1600’s style). This is where Raine finds her, and Jordan,
desperate to be treated as a woman, follows him.

The romance is surprisingly sweet, which lessens the ‘OMG!’
factor. This book also has an Über disgusting villain – who quite literally
gave me nightmares. I’m still not sure that syphilis should ever be mentioned
in an erotic romance... Anyway if you want to read a VERY different kind of
erotic romance, I’d suggest starting with “Nicholas” (book 1) and if you’re
curiosity has peaked then go ahead and try “Raine”. I’m not sure if I’m
personally ready for book 3 yet, but I’ll keep you posted!

~ How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse ~ by Cressida Cowell

I love these books. I read them to my children, affecting
crappy Scottish accents and having a blast. With characters like Big-Boobied
Bertha, Norbert the Nutjob and Dogsbreath the Duhbrain it is sure to keep
children and adults alike thoroughly entertained. Filled with dragons, Vikings,
Hysterics, Hooligans and more, these are some of the best (if not some of the
grossest) kids books I’ve read in years.

Here’s the blurb;

In his 4th sidesplitting adventure, Hiccup Horrendous
Haddock III must rescue his best friend, Fishlegs, from the deadly disease
Vorpentitis. The only cure is rare and almost impossible to find...a potato.
But where will Hiccup find such a thing? He'll have to dodge the terrible
Sharkworms, battle Doomfangs, and outwit crazy Hooligans if he's going to be a
Hero...again.

Okay I bought the Charlaine Harris series of books long
before I watched the True Blood series. And unfortunately the books stayed on
my TBR pile for a good 12 months or more before I even got around to reading
book 1...

For me, knowing the story line – at least the TV adaptation,
ruined my enjoyment of the story. I love turning the pages not knowing how
everything will unfold...

Okay, what I loved about DUD (g) was the first person POV –
to me it’s like reading someone’s diary, somehow it feels more personal and
in-depth. It also makes for a nice change after writing (forever) in third
person. And yes, even knowing the story I liked the concept of Sookie being
able to read minds, plus the fact she’s just an ordinary girl in every other
way.

For those who don’t know the story line, the heroine and
main character is Sookie Stackhouse, a cocktail waitress in Louisiana. She
meets and very quickly falls for ‘vampire Bill’ – and loves him all the more
because she can’t read his mind. What bliss! After the ceaseless voices she
picks up on and has to constantly block.

The book has lots of interesting characters—Sookie’s
brother, their grandmother. Not to mention all the great characters she works
with (again, I can’t help but picture the characters from the TV series instead
of using my imagination).

There are a few twists and turns with a murder or two that
leaves you guessing, and I think Charlaine does a great job in hiding who
really is the killer. Particularly good since Sookie has a fair idea she’s the
next victim-to-be.

Oh, and I can’t help but be intensely interested in the
secondary character—vampire Eric. Whether it’s from the TV series or the book,
I’m really not quite sure *g*

~ A Hunger Like No Other ~ Kresley Cole

I was introduced to Kresley Cole by our very own C.T Green,
a HUGE fan. And I have to say I’m very impressed with this author and will
definitely be reading more of her books.

In short, the book opens with lykae, Lachlain MacRieve
enduring horrendous torture (burning) from some members of the vampire horde.
Sensing his predestined mate, he uses every last ounce of his strength to break
free from the manacles that have bound him for too many years. He’s outraged to
discover his mate is actually half vampire (& half valkyrie) and despises
himself for wanting her.

I loved the fact the hero Emmaline starts out as a bit of a
mouse in the courage stakes—it makes a change from the kick but heroines I
adore. But of course, (spoiler alert) Emmaline grows in the story, becoming
something she’d never have believed possible and defeating the very monster no
warrior has before her.

And all the while ‘her’ Lachlain falls desperately in love
with her, the hardened lykae willing to move heaven and earth to keep her as
his own =)

Jodie C

~ The Lawman ~ Lily Graison

You should have seen my happy dance when I found out I would
be getting an ARC of The Lawman. These feet were movin baby - movin I tells ya.

When asked to review the latest Lily Graison release, I had
no hesitation. Lily is one of my go-to girls for sexy romances that always
leave me sated with a warm, happy smile on my face. So today was a good day for
me.

Yet again I wasn’t disappointed by Lily’s work. The Lawman
was a torturously seductive story, with the perfect mix of romance, drama and
heat between two characters that made me glow with excitement.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Lawman himself – was a
roguishly handsome, sex god of a man, with his green eyes, long dark hair and a
ravenous appetite for Abigail. While Abby on the other hand was far from timid
and had a long list of secrets that kept surprising me right till the final
chapter.

I devoured this book in one afternoon, enjoying the
emotional ride and feeling 100% invested in the way Abigail and Morgan's story
would turn out.

I honestly cannot wait until the second and subsequent books
are released in this series.

~ Size Matters ~ Stephanie Julian

Size Matters was exactly the type of book I needed when I
started reading it.

It was written with a great voice, was smooth and easy to
read as well as being funny enough to have me chuckling - out loud I might add,
which doesn’t happen too often - and had the perfect amount of steam.

To be honest I was a bit dubious about how the book was
going to turn out when it started with the heroine having sex with a complete
stranger, without even knowing what he looked like, let alone his name. But
Stephanie Julian pulled it off and had me enjoying every single minute of it.

The concept was a refreshing approach to paranormal
romance/erotica and I sincerely hope the author writes more in this series!

One of my favourite quotes:

Collapsing over her, breathing like a freight train, he
pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered, "Name's Tim. Nice to meet
you."

Thursday, 22 December 2011

"Mimosa Black" is my third release with Eternal Press and I'm giving away an e-copy to a commenter today.

I can't really remember what inspired me to write "Mimosa Black", but I think it had something to do with the somewhat unfair reputation my hometown has.

It's set in Rockingham WA, which has the dubious honour of being called "Bogan-ville" West Australia (for those of you who don't know what a bogan is, this is the wiki entry to explain). As there is high number of 'cashed up bogans' in this area, I wondered how I could translate this into a paranormal creature... Enter the Harpy - uncouth, loud and opinionated - a perfect addition to my fictional world. In "Mimosa Black", Rockingham is the home to the largest flock of Harpies in the Southern hemisphere and my character, Mimosa, is one of them.

One of my favourite things about paranormal writing is thinking about how mythological/magical beings would fit into modern life. The fact is, they'd probably fit in pretty badly.

Mimosa Black is a hybrid Harpy, unlike the "True Harpy" image (see left) Mimosa has the body of an ordinary woman with the addition of glossy black wings - and this makes her something of a disappointment to her flock and to herself as well, as Mimosa's wings are mostly useless. Combining her Harpy nature and Human body makes Mimosa an unusual heroine, and one that's far from perfect. Unable to control her basal instincts, Mimosa finds herself literally in some very sticky positions.

I had a blast writing this novella, and for anyone local, you'll probably get a smile from some of the scenes.

Here's the blurb;

"In a world where magical creatures are as rare as a spotty teen at a supermarket checkout, being one quarter Harpy shouldn’t be a problem.Unfortunately for Mimosa Black, this is not the case. Combining her failed marriage, inability to fly, and unrequited crush on her childhood friend, Bo Elliot – Mimosa’s existence is less than idyllic.

Things however, are rarely as they seem. Bo has a secret and when Mimosa falters, his secret is revealed. Yet in their darkest moments, where bad magic lurks, love is never far away. Mimosa and Bo do have a chance at happiness, if they're selfless enough to find it...

Leave a comment for the chance to win a copy...and have a lovely Christmas!

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Shona HuskGoblin King has it's Australian Release on 1st January 2012. And Goblin Prince, the second installment in the series, has a release date of 1st May 2012.

Eleni KonstantineStormy Divide, a fantasy short story, will be released with Musa Publishing via their Urania imprint in June 2012.

RELEASES & COVERS

Nicole Murphy
Nicole has released a short story, Kenyon and Nami, based in the Gadda World, which is where her trilogy The Dream of Asarlai is set. You can find it on Smashwords.

Astrid CooperChristmas Creek, a m/m sensual romance has been released this week by Extasy Books.

COMPETITIONS

Peta Crake
Another win for Peta. Harbringer came first in the Paranormal Section of Get Your Stiletto in the Door Contest run by the ChickLit Writers.

REVIEWS

Mel TeshcoSomething Wicked This Way Comes anthology has received a 5 lips rating from Two Lips Reviews. Here is what they had to say about Dragon Heat:

"Dragon Heat by Mel Tescho has a lot of twists and turns for such a short story, but I found myself really enjoying it. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Tescho and it made me wonder what else this author has out there. There is passion, heat, and a dragon you just have to meet."

"Something Wicked This Way Comes has something for just about every romance lover. The stories are all very different, crossing genres and stereotypes, and running through the whole gambit of emotions. Plus lots of Really HOT sex! Sexy shapeshifters, handsome highlanders, cursed tattoos and more."

OTHER

Maree Anderson

Freaks of Greenfield High has been listed as Featured read on Wattpad!

~~~

Well done everyone.

With lots of places closing down for the holidays, we may not get news. However, I will keep you posted if anything pops up. Otherwise, we'll be back to our regular edition on Tuesday 10th January.

Other than a couple of posts for the holiday season and Good News that will pop up, we will be having a hiatus from the 23rd December until in the new year. Regular programming will start up again on the 8th January. There will be some changes to the posts. More information to come in January. So this is the last Weekly Overview for the year. I hope you've been finding them informative and useful.

Thanks to Nicola E. Sheridan who has joined the DarkSider blog team. More details on what Nicola will be doing in the new year.

Thanks also to Jenny Schwartz who is also taking on updating the DarkSider Bios page.

Mel has a book trailer for Dragon Heat (the story in the Something Wicked This Way comes anthology). You can also find it on the Book Trailers page.

Saturday, 17 December 2011

When I sat down to write this blog post – I was at a bit of a loss what to actually say. I mean I have done the Q&A one already so what else do I have to say? Unfortunately this is why I don’t blog much. I really envy writers who can come up with regular blog posts and keep readers entertained with witty thoughts or clever prose about things they are doing, but I am just a boring IT programmer that doesn’t have much to say.

Colin the Pugnacious Pug

I decided I would write about what I am working on now – and the answer, in short, is nothing and everything. I have just handed in the copy edits on the third Dark Brethren novel which is due to come out in august. This leaves me in a spot I haven’t been in for some time, free to write something different and new. So the long answer is, I can now write erotica, or work on my colonial saga, or maybe try my hand at a post apocalyptic YA novel that has been muttering in my head. Or how about a children’s story on Colin the Pugnacious Pug.

It’s all very exciting, but what does this mean for my author identity?As some may know, I write short erotica under the pen name Tracie Sommers and will be dabbling in this space again in the near future. This is writing is different to my urban fantasy novels and I made the decision early on about “branding” myself so that people know what to expect. If it is a Tracey O’Hara novel, then it’s going to have a dark urban fantasy story line, but when looking at a Tracie Sommers they will hopefully know to expect an explicitly sexy story.

German Cover for Night's Cold Kiss

Many authors have go down this track. Nora Roberts/JD Robb and Jessica Bird/JR Ward are two that immediately spring to mind with very successful branding dualities. And it works. I’ve had people say, “I don’t like Nora Roberts, but I adore JD Robb,” knowing full well they are the same author. Each brand name has its own fan base, which can be veracious and protective for that particular author name.

German Cover for Death's Sweet Embrace

As an author – having two identities can sometimes get a bit confusing, but on the whole it is easy it separate the two. So does this mean if I branch out into other genres I may have to come up with more names? Possibly. But I’m definitely saving crossing that bridge until I get to it. Right now – I am going to take my time, enjoy myself and rediscover who I am as a writer. In short – I’m going to have fun.

Thursday, 15 December 2011

Today, I'm giving away a digital copy of the steampunk anthology, A Clockwork Christmas, and I swear whoever wins it won't be any more excited than I am.

Having a story in A Clockwork Christmas has been sheer joy -- from the idea for "Wanted: One Scoundrel" which let me mis-use my history degree, through Angela James's super editing, to working with my antho sisters, JK Coi, PG Forte and Stacy Gail -- the whole experience has been fantastic. Yet, best of all is knowing people are reading and loving it.

Reading is one of life's pleasures. So knowing that my story has contributed to that delight is a bubbly, wonderful feeling.

To win a copy of A Clockwork Christmas, all you have to do is leave a comment -- and if you can't think what to say, why not mention a favourite book?

We Wish You a Steampunk Christmas

Changed forever after tragedy, a woman must draw strength from her husband’s love. A man learns that love isn’t always what you expect. A thief steals the heart of a vengeful professor. And an American inventor finds love Down Under. Enjoy Victorian Christmas with a clockwork twist in these four steampunk novellas.

Anthology includes:

Crime Wave in a Corset by Stacy GailThis Winter Heart by PG ForteWanted: One Scoundrel by Jenny SchwartzFar From Broken by JK Coi

Shona HuskDark Vow has received a fantastic review and 4.5 stars from RT Book Reviews and resulting it being a Top Pick. Fantastic! Here is a little snippet:

"Lucky for readers, Shona Husk has crafted an extraordinary tale. The mysteries and reveals are totally unexpected, well timed and serve to further the story. No gratuitous shocks or storylines here! Husk takes her time with the romance, ensuring that the relationship between Jaines and Obsidian is never forced. A western with a magical bent, Dark Vow's aim is true."